I've Had The Time Of My Life

Chapter 6

Caleb stood in front of Carlos. "Ah, there you are Mr. Molina. As I told you earlier, I have thought of a new way for you to reunite with your mother." Caleb said in a sinister tone.

Carlos felt uneasy. He had hoped he could find the ghost from earlier, try to convince him to find a way to escape Caleb. And yet, at the mention of his mother, Carlos hesitated. Now he was unsure if he had judged Caleb too quickly.

"Come along now." Caleb promptly turned around, and though he was hesitant, Carlos followed.

***

Willie snuck behind Caleb and Carlos and followed them to Caleb's private room. Something in his gut told him that he needed to know what was going on in that room. Knowing he couldn't poof somewhere to eavesdrop, Willie walked into the room next door. Finally, luck was on his side! There was an air conditioning grate that connected the two rooms, so while it may be a little muffled, Willie could at least hear what was being said.

***

"Did you know that I never intended," Caleb waves his hands around him. "All this."

Carlos watched Caleb walk around, unsure of how he was supposed to respond.

"You see, I was working as a street magician in New Orleans. Some might say I was a bit of a con man. But I had dreams. I knew I could be famous. As I was performing one day, I noticed a man watching my act. And the next day he was there again, and in the days that followed. And then one day, he did not show up, but in my collection bin, there was a card. A note asking me to contact someone. Though I never saw the man drop it in the bin, I knew it was from him." Caleb looked over at Carlos. "He could tell I possessed the gift."

Carlos fought hard to not roll his eyes. Was Caleb actually doing the trope where the villain gives his origin story? Caleb continued to stroll around the room, but he seemed to be lost in the memory and forgot Carlos was still there.

"And so I went to him. He told me he had an offer for me, one that I could not refuse. It was a promise of sorts, the whole 'selling your soul to the devil' type of thing. But he was right, I could not refuse. He was promising me sold out shows in glamourous venues all across the world. And secrets to magic that would be unlike anything I had ever seen."

"And what did you have to do in return?" Carlos asked. He couldn't help it, he was curious.

Caleb looked back at Carlos, as if seeing him for the first time.

"Well he needed someone to collect souls for him. I did not understand what he meant at the time, I assumed he meant he wanted to share in the fame and glory. So I readily agreed. I was on the verge of poverty, how could I refuse? We shook hands, and after we separated, a faint tattoo appeared on my wrist. Before I could ask how he had performed the illusion, he bid adieu. He held up his end of the bargain though, in less than a week, I was performing in Hollywood's best clubs and parlours... after a year of performing, to the day, I saw him again. I was in the middle of my act, and there he was at a back table. He had this sly smile on his face, and gave his head a nod, and just like that, he had disappeared. I did my best to not let his sudden disappearance faze me, I was a magician after all. Yet my mind seemed to have lost its own will, and during a routine trick, there was a terrible accident, and I suffered a horrible death."

Caleb's eyes held an eerie glare. He muttered something under his breath and shook his head. "Once again, I saw the man. It was quite clear that he was not of this earth. Perhaps a voo doo master, or some astral being, but it was evident he was responsible for my death and resurrection. For there we were, standing in a beautiful club in Paris. He explained that it was now my turn to fulfill my end of the deal. I suddenly felt a burning on my wrist, and the faint tattoo glowed a bright purple before disappearing. Little did I know that the handshake back in New Orleans was one that would damn me for eternity. And now here we are, I collect souls for him, and one day, he will release me from this misery."

Carlos was confused. He thought Caleb loved his life, and he never would have guessed that there was someone else pulling the strings. But now Carlos wondered why he was there. So as the impulsive boy he was, he asked. "Why are you telling me all of this? Why does the creepy guy want souls? What do you need from me? You can't have my soul!"

"Young man, I do not need your soul. I have collected enough souls now. I had hoped you would share the power your sister has, and I could harness that to free myself on my own accord, but as that is not the case, I proposed a new deal to my benefactor. He requires souls to sustain himself, and his power. However, a young human host will also suffice. While I have the ability to do short term possession on the living, he has the power to transfer his entire soul into one. To seamlessly remove the consciousness of one, and insert his instead. And that, my dear boy, is where you come in."

***

Willie had heard enough. He knew Caleb had taken away Carlos' belongings when he first arrived, and hoped that he hadn't disposed of them. It seemed like the universe was on Willie's side, because after a bit of searching, he found Carlos' bag. He had skated around enough in the past years to stay up to date with the current technology, and as he rummaged through Carlos' sack, he found exactly what he was looking for.

Willie powered up the small black rectangle and watched it come to life. Willie knew he had very little time if he was going to save Carlos, and the low battery indicator on the phone did not help.

Willie wasn't sure if this was going to work. He knew new phones came out every year, advertising how powerful their cameras were, but were they strong enough to capture a ghost's image? He found the contacts list and scrolled through till he found a name he recognized. He hoped that the Ghost Club rules about visibility would apply to technology as well.  Apparently, it didn't do anything to boost the reception. Willie had seen people hold phones up to windows in these situations, so he found the nearest one he could and nearly jumped for joy when he saw he could now make a call. Willie didn't know if he believed in them, but he prayed to every god he could think of as the phone rang. Someone was listening up there as the call connected.

"Willie?"

He smiled briefly, but then the last percentage of battery died and the screen went black.

a/n

so here's the thing. I originally wanted to release the full book at once, but then I got impatient, so I thought I would release 5 chapters at once. but here I am being impatient again. so here are 3 chapters. I will just upload when they are done. cause here's what I've realized... I am more motivated to write when I read your comments and see that people vote - that means you actually want to read this.

on another side note, I knew exactly how I wanted to start book 1, and I know how I want to end the series - it's just a question of do I finish it in book 2 aka this one, or make it a trilogy because I like odd numbers.  what do you think?

also like, hey. I never do these, mostly cause I feel like 1/19 people care, but to you who does care, let me just say you are great. and here's a quote from Katherine Gaskin who was an author (tbh, I had to look up who she was, since I really only knew the quote)

"Be like a pineapple - stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside"

Maybe I'll just give you guys some delightful Pinterest ready quotes at the end of each chapter. Cool? Cool.